Digital Rights Management (DRM) is a field of computing that addresses the electronic enforcement of legal rights in content. For example, an entity may own intellectual property rights in content such as books, magazines, video, music, software, etc., and may wish to allow this content to be used (“consumed”) only on certain terms. DRM provides technological means that allow the entity to distribute content electronically in a manner such that these terms will be enforced.
Typically, DRM systems work by encrypting the content to be protected, and distributing, to every lawful user of the content, an electronic license that contains the decryption key and specifies the terms under which the content can be decrypted for consumption. Implicit in this scheme is a trust relationship between the entity that owns the content and the platform that will enforce the license: since the user's platform will get the decryption key, the platform must be trusted to use the key only in the manner permitted by the license. Typically, this trust is established in an “activation” or “certification” process that prepares the platform for participation in the DRM system, and this process typically results in the platform's being issued a certificate that must be proffered each time the platform attempts to license a content item. In some cases, equivalent certificates may be issued to different platforms that belong to the same user (or group of users), but ultimately each platform must establish a relationship with the DRM system in order to participate in that system.
Since each platform must have a relationship to the DRM system in order to participate in that system, typical DRM systems require that each platform engage in activation, certification, or licensing transactions on its own behalf. Thus, typical DRM systems do not allow a first device to act as a proxy for a second device when: (1) attempting to activate or certify the second device for participation in the DRM system, or (2) acquiring content on behalf of the second device. This facet of DRM systems ignores the fact that it may be more convenient for a user to “tether” one device (e.g., a handheld computer) to another device (e.g., a personal computer), while using the superior user interface of the personal computer to perform a rights-management transaction on behalf of the tethered handheld.
In view of the foregoing, there is a need for a system that overcomes the drawbacks of the prior art.